Brother Blue was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 12, 1921. An exceptional student, he served in the US Military from 1943-1946 in both theaters during World War Two; he was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. He obtained an AB from Harvard College, an MFA from Yale School of Drama and his PhD from Union Graduate School.

By the late-1960s Hill, always accompanied by his wife Ruth, was telling stories on the streets, in prisons, in classrooms and more. His stories always allowed the listener to imagine bigger worlds, see themselves in the heart of the tale and believe that they, too, were storytellers. Brother Blue said that he told stories, "from the middle of the middle of me to the middle of the middle of you," and that if you heard another person's story you could never harm them, so stories could save the world.

"I promise to live the story of unconditional love," said Brother Blue in a Cambridge Chronicle story six years ago. "I promise to sing a song from the middle of the middle of Brother Blue to the middle of the middle of all creation."

In 2003, "Ahhhh! A Tribute to Brother Blue and Ruth Edmonds Hill" was released The book, published by Somerville's Yellow Moon Press, is a compilation of stories, poems and photos submitted by area poets, writers, artists and just plain fans. A committee from LANES, the League for the Advancement of New England Storytellers, also based in Somerville, assisted in the project.

Brother Blue ran a storytelling series in Cambridge for over 20 years, where many storytellers found their own voices. Brother Blue and his wife Ruth always listened with uncritical and loving ears, encouraging everyone. He received multiple international awards for his art and was the official storyteller of both Cambridge and Boston.

Blue was a hero to me. Blue married me to Lauren Carver, 22 years ago this December. My parents were shocked, snow fell out the long barn windows, and people saw wonder when he told his stories.

I was lucky enough to play harmonica behind Blue for several stories on the commons, and once at SUNY Purchase. I always played better than I knew myself to play, working with him. He was a truly amazing force.